WED AM News: UW-Madison spin-offs have $12.4B impact in Wisconsin, report shows; AFL-CIO reports 109 WI workers died on the job in 2024

April 29, 2026

— UW-Madison spin-off companies have a $12.4 billion annual economic impact in the state, making up nearly a third of the $38.9 billion total for the university, its affiliated organizations and startups.

That’s according to a new report released yesterday by the university, which shows its total jobs impact is 287,232, including 88,571 jobs at associated startup companies and 95,546 jobs at affiliated organizations. UW-Madison’s total of 103,115 includes 43,457 direct jobs and 59,658 indirect or induced jobs.

“This impact means that one in every 30 jobs in Wisconsin is either directly provided by UW-Madison or supported by its presence,” authors wrote.

Authors also note the university’s economic footprint extends beyond Madison and Dane County, with about $1.3 billion of its total impact and nearly 10,000 jobs located outside the region. Regional impacts range from $34.9 million in northwestern Wisconsin to more than $644.9 million in the southeastern corner of the state.

The report, created by consulting firm Tripp Umbach on behalf of the university, found it yields an economic impact return of $21.66 for every dollar of state funding. That’s based on its receipt of $609.4 million in state funding, contrasted with its $13.2 billion in statewide economic impact.

Meanwhile, the university’s research enterprise has a $3 billion economic impact, including $1.4 billion in direct operational spending and $1.6 billion in indirect or induced impact. UW-Madison research supports 14,129 jobs as well.

Another $2.4 billion in economic impact comes from the university’s health sciences division, which wraps in the schools of Medicine and Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine. That includes $968.9 million in direct operational spending and $1.43 billion in indirect or induced impact. Its total job impact is 18,363.

The report also touches on the contributions of the university’s 185,487 alumni living in the state as of fiscal year 2025. Of those in the workforce, alumni generated $12.8 billion in earnings, authors found. That figure is separate from the economic impact total for the university, its affiliates and spin-offs.

Among the affiliate groups highlighted in the report, UW Health had the largest economic impact total with $12.9 billion, followed by WARF with $247.2 million, the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association with $111 million, and the Morgridge Institute for Research with $53.2 million.

See the release and report.

— The AFL-CIO reports 109 Wisconsin workers died on the job in 2024, while about 57,400 workers experienced serious injuries or illness.

The national trade union federation yesterday rolled out its 35th annual “Death on the Job” report, capturing national and state-level workplace safety data for 2024.

Wisconsin’s annual number of workers who die on the job has remained relatively consistent since at least 2007, the earliest year covered in the latest report. Over that period, the lowest number of annual deaths was 89 in 2012 and the highest was 125 in 2022.

Of the 109 worker deaths in the state in 2024, 15 were caused by assaults and violent acts, 30 were caused by transportation incidents, 22 were caused by falls, 19 stemmed from exposure to harmful substances or environments and another 19 were caused by contact with objects and equipment.

In a statement on the findings, Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale said “every worker deserves to come home safe” from their shift.

“In the labor movement, we stand together to hold employers accountable to keep workers safe,” she said. “We demand dignity and safety at work and we are sounding the alarm on workplace safety as we mourn and remember all workers killed on the job.”

The report also notes Wisconsin has 30 federal OSHA inspectors for its more than 2.9 million workers, for a ratio of one inspector per about 98,000 employees.

That’s below the standard AFL-CIO references from the International Labor Organization, which is one inspector per 10,000 workers in industrial market economies. To meet that benchmark, the state would need to have 294 OSHA inspectors, per the report.

“With 30 OSHA inspectors for the state, it would take OSHA 131 years to inspect every workplace,” authors wrote.

Wisconsin had 21 OSHA investigations conducted in fiscal year 2025, resulting in $343,298 in penalties. That’s $16,348 in penalties per investigation, on average.

Meanwhile, the report also shows Latino workers in the state face the greatest risk of dying on the job of any group, with a 30% higher rate than the national average.

See the full report.

— Research out of UW-Milwaukee lends credence to the practice of “class pricing,” or grouping many different products into a few set price points.

The recently published study is from Zuhui Xiao, an assistant professor of marketing in the UWM Lubar College of Business.

The university’s release draws a connection between the research and AI-enabled variable pricing, which can be used by businesses to adjust the prices of goods based on numerous factors.

While this emerging use of AI for so-called “dynamic pricing” can incorporate shifting consumer demand, input costs and other factors, Xiao found this pricing strategy “reduces the firm’s total profit from multiple products.”

That’s because it reduces consumers’ willingness to pay for lower-cost products more significantly than it can increase their willingness to pay for higher-cost alternatives, according to the model Xiao used for the study. This tendency of customers being more motivated by not wanting to overpay than getting a good deal drives the practice of class pricing, the research found.

Xiao says these findings contribute to a better understanding of this pricing approach for academic and managerial applications, adding “it provides insights on when more prices are not necessarily advantageous in an era of information and emerging artificial intelligence technologies.”

See the release and full study.

— Three organizations will use more than $410,000 in new grant funding to train about 600 workers in the healthcare field, state officials announced.

Gov. Tony Evers and the state Department of Workforce Development yesterday rolled out the round of funding through the Wisconsin Fast Forward Program, which supports worker training efforts across various industries.

“With this funding, we can help bring new folks into the field as well as support current healthcare workers with additional job training to fill in-demand jobs and increase their earnings,” Evers said in a statement.

The majority of the grant dollars are going to Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Inc. in Milwaukee County.

The care provider will use $282,517 to launch the state’s first limited x-ray machine operator educational pathway. The effort will train 30 current medical assistants, certified nursing assistants and EMTs, with trainees up for an hourly pay increase of $6.78 or greater, according to the guv’s office.

Another $94,600 is going to Bell Ambulance Inc. in Milwaukee County, which will train 600 current first responders, while sponsoring eight workers seeking paramedic license and eight others in critical care endorsement. Trainees could get a wage bump of $0.79 per hour.

The other $33,226 was awarded to the Northwestern Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board in Ashland County, which will train seven unemployed people to become dental assistants. The work is being done alongside Northwood Technical College and UW-Whitewater, and could lead to employment with partners NorthLakes Community Clinic and Lakeview Dental Center.

To get funding through the program, employers must meet various minimum requirements, including 85% of participants completing training and 65% gaining employment. Plus, 75% of incumbent trainees must get pay raises.

See the release.

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